CONSTITUTIONAL LAW -ELECTIONS - CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT-THE KOHLER CASE

Authors

Abstract

The relator brought an action to test the right of the defendant Kohler to the office of governor of the state of Wisconsin, asserting that his election was invalid for violation of the Corrupt Practices Act, particularly in that he had expended more than $100,000 for political purposes in violation of the provision of the act limiting such expenditures for candidates for governor to $4,000. The defendant demurred to the petition, asserting that the Corrupt Practices Act is void and unconstitutional as applied to the governor because (1) the statute seeks to prescribe either qualifications for the office of governor or a method by which he may be removed from office in addition to those prescribed by the constitution, which are beyond the power of the legislature to alter; and (2) the statute operates to deny a candidate due process of law and the equal protection of the laws, and especially it is an unreasonable limitation upon the right of free speech and the right of a candidate to address effectively his fellow citizens upon public questions. The supreme court of Wisconsin in State ex rel. La Follette v. Kohler held the statute is constitutional.

Recommended Citation

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW -ELECTIONS - CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT-THE KOHLER CASE, 29 Mich. L. Rev. 228 (1930).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol29/iss2/7